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Flaked Lengths


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Hello,

I'm exploring the possibility of adding a flaked line of delivery hose to our pumps; the idea being it is very quick to deploy when the situation merits more than a hosereel or one person can use it quickly as a covering jet.

My criteria is that it needs to be very quick and simple to deploy, ideally by one firefighter.

Here are two options that I favour out of several that I have been playing with;

https://ibb.co/gYMD5z

Two lengths of 45 flaked in the tray above the pump. Originally I was just flaking both lengths into the tray, but due to the limited tray height the female coupling was getting wedged 9 times out of 10 when deploying.

https://ibb.co/jDYnXe

I've gotten round this by flaking the first length in, then looking the coupling out to the front and then flaking the second length in. To deploy; grab the branch and the coupling then walk away.

https://ibb.co/gYMD5z

Option two involves two Dutch rolled lengths connected together. To deploy; again grab the branch and the coupling. The two hoses will get pulled out onto the floor and the unravel. 

Option two is my preferred choice,  but I worry that as we only 'conventionally' roll our delivery hose that people would be put off by having to make it up. (This could be overcome with education/training and possibly marking the hose up to aid make up.)

Do you have a flaked jet on your pump? How many lengths does it consist of?

How is it stowed? Do you use it much? What do you see as the advantages & disadvantage of your set up?

Many thanks

Regards

Ben

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We don’t carry flaked lengths on the pumps at my current station (We have all 45’s Dutch roled) but at my last station, also a different brigade, we carried 2 Dutch rolls and 2 Cleveland rolls plus a Dutch roll in the pump locker.

Can be stored in the same space (just about) taken up by a standard or Dutch roll and pays out like a dream! Unlike in the video you can easily make it up with 1-2 people, not 4!

And rather than strapping the hose together you can just tie it together with cordon tape which simply snaps when the hose is charged, allowing it to pay out.

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We have 2 51mm Cleveland roll lengths on the pumps. One station I was at had them in pump locker on small shelf above the pump. Station at now has them in a high rise bag with smooth bores in rear offside.

They were put on the run specifically for high rise incidents and given to stations. As ever, it was down to station to find space on the Pump.

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Hi Holdfast,

Thanks for your reply, the Cleveland Roll is something I have been reading out online but haven't tried yet.

I like the idea of securing it with cordon tape so it's easy to deploy.

Did you have a single length rolled this way? or can you have two lengths connected and made up into a single Cleveland Load or do you have to have two loads made up (one for each length of hose) then connect them together if you know mean....?

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We had a single length of Cleveland roll on each side of the pump and the idea was to deploy a Dutch roll from the pump locker and then attach the Cleveland roll to that with the branch. I never tried rolling 2 lengths into a Cleveland but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work if you had the storage space. As Crog says they are great for high rise but also good time savers/convenient on other jobs too.

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I see what your saying Holdfast,  will try one Dutch & one Cleveland Load when I go back after leave.

We are running two Volvos currently and are pretty short on space especially in the pump locker. We are going back to Scanias again shortly, so I'm hoping we will see a bit of an increase in storage space and thats when I'm looking to float the idea. 

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You should be able to hoof a couple of 45s out with a deft flick of the wrist In seconds, the best thing for making hose up in the comfort of the yard is a table with battens screwed on to it

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Whilst I applaud you in looking for the most efficient way of hose stowage, surely you should be involving you're R&D/workshops in the process, if not at least for trial purposes, just to cover your arse if something untoward happens?

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Hi Firestorm, thanks for the advice...

I'm just gathering ideas & playing about with things in the yard before I narrow down the options. I then plan to go around the watches to gather everyone's thoughts and opinions. I will then come up with a proposal and take it forward with my Station Manager.

Some legacy areas of Scotland do run with a flaked jet. There is currently no standard inventory or pump layout across the service. 

I'd never fire something on the run without following due process. 

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  • 1 year later...

Just flicking throigh this thread I have a question. Why is it that certain brigades don't use a cleveland load? I had a look online at the Angus hose video demonstrating it and it looks far simpler for a high rise use at least.

Just wondering the rationale?

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Had a go at it today, got an LFB briefing note from january printed off that states it can be done and encouraging crews to try it out.

Our watch were really impressed with it's usefulness and how quickly you can get it to work, even if not for a high rise job, just to place by a front door and bowl out a 70mm so you're good to go on entry and remove the workload of people feeding hose in. Especially useful potentially on a 1 pump station 

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Fifty years ago flaked lengths were very popular in many small brigades, 2 people had no trouble laying and connecting six lengths without having to go back to the appliance.

 thumb_Birkenhead---1970-Firemen.jpg

Every pump also had two pre-connected 45mm too.

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Hose layers had flaked hose on them, and could run out hose very quickly. However, while flaking is the fastest way to lay out hose lengths, it is not generally used because it take up far more room than rolled lengths.

Think yourself lucky you don't have the French system of one long roll on a hand pulled trailer (it hangs on the back of the appliance). They have to run out around 200m metres of hose for any and every incident. An, the have to drag it up hill and down dale. Think of doing this in a forest fire in the mountains. I've seen them doing it. I felt exhausted watching.

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Hose laters still do have flaked lengths on. 4km single or 2km twinned 90mm hose. Flaked so that it deploys at speed. You also see this on US "engines" who have normal firefighting hose flaked on the back of the appliance.

But I do think individual flaked 45mm in a cleveland roll/load can have it's place on high rise and other incidents. We tested it out last week and it takes up the same amount of space by folding the flake itself (fits in both the high rise bin and in the normal 45mm lockers)

Screenshot_20200330-160921_Gallery.jpg

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On 30/03/2020 at 13:26, Healdav said:

 it is not generally used because it take up far more room than rolled lengths.

Not necessarily true, In 1960 Birkenhead FB carried 10 lengths of rolled in a locker on each side with the usual associated gear in there as well.  When they changed over to the "flaked & folded" system shown in the above photo, the same quantity of hose and gear went into the same lockers.  Once Duraline replaced traditional rubber-lined, that argument became even less true.

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Should have made clear. That is what I was told.

It is rather better than the abortion I came across a couple of times, where the hose was laid out, then halved, then rolled so that both ends were together! Talk about a pig's ear to try to unroll it. Heaven knows what the point was

Edited by Carl
Quote of post directly above removed
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Has anyone got any experience of the best way to make up a cleveland load at a job? Our new pump has 50m of 45 in a cleveland load but there's very rarely the space to lay it out straight anywhere outside the drill yard. We've not got any official procedure on the cleveland, it's just something that was introduced and placed on the newer trucks. Any thoughts?

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We have 3 methods in LFB.

Use a broom handle; Place one end in the female coupling and fold over repeatedly 

Dead reckoning; 2 of you simply fold the hose, easier done on its side

Unrolled; use hose rolled on the female coupling (not dutch rolled) and unroll on its side on the floor and simply kind of food into place.

I've never used method 3. Looks too much effort and you'd have to roll it first?

If you look on YouTube there's plenty of how to videos 

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